


O Death

by rubyisms



Series: Won't You Spare Me Over 'Til Another Year? [2]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Horror, Implied Relationships, M/M, Mad Science
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-28
Updated: 2017-02-28
Packaged: 2018-09-27 09:48:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10001465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rubyisms/pseuds/rubyisms
Summary: They still never knew where he had come from. Out of the blue, one day, a man showed up. In his company was his assistant. At first, no one really thought they needed the doctor in their town.But when James Ironwood, the man of half metal and flesh, displayed wonders and performed miracles on their sick townspeople they had never seen before, they all immediately called for him to be the new town’s physician. After all, the current one was getting so dreadfully old.Oh, if they had only known.





	

**Author's Note:**

> trigger warnings for: death(murder), body horror

It was a cold winter night when they moved into town. It wasn’t until morning when the townspeople had noticed their new arrivals. A man who wore a white glove on one hand, a charming smile on his handsomely chiseled face, everything about him seemed warm and inviting. Dr. James Ironwood was how he introduced himself.

He had introduced the man next to him as his assistant, a man named Qrow. There was something that made many of them a little wary of Qrow at first. Perhaps it was the way his eyes darted around every so often, or the way his hands trembled. Alongside the good doctor and his assistant was the doctor’s brother. He was a strong, quiet type. Most people had assumed that he was there as a bodyguard, at first.

At first, they assumed a lot of things. They assumed the doctor, a man who was half metal and half flesh, was a miracle worker. There was no other explanation for the miracles he performed after all. A sickly and dying girl was cured overnight, the sick and old woke up the next day feeling young and healthy again, and the town quickly wanted him to become the new physician. After all, the man was getting so dreadfully old, and it was time to seek someone younger and new.

James, flattered by their insistence, quickly took the position offered.  It wasn’t long before he made the office his own, moving into the plantation just on the outskirts of the town. He claimed it was because he enjoyed the fresh air of the countryside. The people, adoring the good doctor, bought into every word he said as if he were feeding sugar cubes to a horse.

But how dreadfully wrong these naive townsfolk were. For James didn’t care about the plantation’s isolation out in the country for the “fresh air.” No, he enjoyed it because it was the only place he could conduct his wicked and sinful experiments. Experiments upon helpless animals and even his fellow man.

“Well, there’s work to be done. Let’s begin.”

* * *

The first one to disappear was a young woman by the name of Pyrrha Nikos. She was a farmer’s daughter, and many people had assumed she had run off and eloped with the farmhand, Jaune Arc. Nevertheless, Detective Ozpin, alongside his partner Glynda Goodwitch, had been assigned to the case.

How curious, he thought when Jaune was still in the town. Ozpin remembered Jaune being the first person he questioned, he remembers how the young boy breaks down in tears when he was informed of Pyrrha had suddenly turned up missing. It makes him feel sympathy, but he still pushed on to get answers.

A promising lead came from that conversation with Jaune. The blond had admitted last seeing Pyrrha the night before when she came by the barn to give him some food to eat before he retired before the night.

“The last time I saw her, she said she was going on a walk- towards the plantation.” And Ozpin and Glynda had exchanged a look, thanking Jaune for his time and telling him they’d be in contact if he heard anything else.

“The doctor, huh?” Glynda wondered aloud on their walk down the dirt road to the plantation. “I wonder why Miss Nikos decided to see him.”

Ozpin just frowned at her response. From the day the doctor first showed up, he never had any good feelings from him or his companions. Arriving at the plantation, he took a moment to examine the terrain and home. Nothing seemed out of place. In fact, everything seemed to be very neat and orderly, even the rose bushes, which were such a deep unnatural color of red, and didn’t have a single thorn or leaf out of place.

“Can I help you?” And the doctor came around from the corner of the house, just moments before Glynda was going to knock. He was wearing overalls and gardening gloves, both coated in a light dusting of dirt. James was sweating, blue eyes still shining with an amused twinkle in the sun, and he wipes his forehead, before lowering his hands back to his side.

“Ah, yes. I’m Detective Ozpin from the local sheriff’s department.” He greets, watching as James removes his gloves. His nails were neatly trimmed, not a single speck of dirt in sight. As a doctor, Ozpin was sure that was to be expected, but he certainly found it odd that despite being in the garden, his hands were still fairly clean. “This is my partner, Glynda Goodwitch. We’re investigating the missing person’s case for Pyrrha Nikos, and we’re following up on a lead that she was last spotted coming here.”   
  
“Miss Nikos, yes. I remember her.” The doctor frowned and pocketed his gloves. “Bright, lovely young woman. She came by last night asking if I could assist her with a secret gardening project she wanted to do. You see, I create my own seeds.” James smiled and gestured to the rose bushes. “It’s how my roses remain such a vibrant red color. She was coming by to ask if she could buy some of my seeds from me, but I told her there was no need to pay. I gave some to her as a gift, and she went on her way. I assumed she had gone back home.”   
  
Ozpin watched James shake his head and frown. “It’s sad to hear what’s happened. I feel sorry for her mother. Experiencing the loss of a child is something I wouldn’t wish upon anyone.”

“You have a child?” Ozpin raises a brow as Glynda continues to investigate outside. James’ eyes dart to the side ever so slightly to watch her, and he watches James as he crosses his arms over his chest.

“I do not. But I always had a soft spot for children. It’s why I became a doctor.” James admits, and Ozpin gives a tiny nod, before James continues. “And you?”   
  
“One. A healthy little girl.” He smiles. “Gabriella. I’ll tell you, ever since she was born, my wife and I have never quite been the same.” Ozpin chuckles and clears his throat, closing the notepad and pocketing his pen.   
  
“Well, we’ll be in touch if you remember anything, doctor.” Oz holds his hand out for James to shake, and the doctor does, a firm and steady grip on his hand.

“I’ll let you know if I do.”

* * *

“Qrow.” The voice and footsteps echo as the doctor descends the steps to his basement. It was a new addition- It didn’t come with the house. “Those detectives stopped by and I need you to do something for me.”

Qrow’s standing by the operation table in the middle of the room, vigorously scrubbing away at the blood that coated the once pristine surface. At the sound of the doctor’s voice, he drops the brush and stands, his clothes reeking of both bleach and blood.

As James crosses the room, dropping the gardening gloves and replacing them with surgical gloves, the smaller male rocks on his heels eager to hear his request. “Yes?” The excitement was barely masked in his voice. “What can I do for you? You know I’d do anything.”   
  
“Indeed, I do.” James chuckles and slides on a white lab coat as he approaches his assistant, resting one of his gloved hands on his face, gently wiping away the blood streak on his cheek. “I’m afraid it’s time our guest takes her leave. She’s overstayed her welcome for far too long.”

Qrow nods and watches as James bends down to pick up the brush he had dropped. “And you want me to get rid of her, yes?” He asks, wanting to confirm his request. James just chuckles and turns back to his assistant, giving another warm and tender touch to his cheek.

“Yes, my dear Qrow. Do whatever you have to do, but dispose of her.” James hums and turns back to scrubbing the floor and the operation table. “I think beneath the cyclamens would be a lovely spot.”

* * *

Pyrrha Nikos is forgotten as spring turns to summer, and summer to fall. The case goes cold and leaves Ozpin and Glynda with no other choice but to close it. Shortly after fall comes around, Ozpin’s wife goes missing. He doesn’t panic much at first. Cinder’s occupation often had her travelling out of town, for extended amounts of time. So when she doesn’t come home after a week, he doesn’t panic. It’s not until months pass that Ozpin realizes something is wrong.

The rumor is she met an old woman who offered her a better life than she currently had as a wife, a mother, and a jeweler. But he doesn’t believe that, not for a second. One day, he decides to ask around town again, and retrace her steps. Most people think he has gone mad and avoid talking to him, but others stop to give him what they remember. That she had been seen heading towards the doctor’s plantation.

And it is later that very same day that they discover a body. Not of Pyrrha, but of someone dear and personal to Ozpin.

He was the one to discover it, after all. The body of his wife lying in the dead and decaying leaves on the ground. He can only recoil in horror as he sees her throat is slashed open, her eyes are missing, and her body is bent at odd angles. In her hand, she clutches an orange lily, the color bright and unusual.

When Glynda arrives on the scene, Ozpin is still standing there in shock as they carry Cinder, his young and beautiful wife who still had so much left to live for, carried away on a stretcher.

Her hand finds her partner’s and gives a reassuring squeeze. “We’ll find them. The person who did this,” she promises her friend.

It was Cinder’s death that prompted Ozpin to return to Pyrrha Nikos’ file. Maybe there was something between the two, a connection, that he was missing. There was one, odd, connection they both had. In both cases, before being found out missing or found dead, they had last been seen heading towards the doctor’s plantation.

As Ozpin reads over the file, he hears a the scuffle of feet on the wooden floor and turns his head to see his daughter, only three, climbing up into her father’s lap as he continues to work by candlelight. “Daddy?” She finally gets out after a moment.

“Yes, Gabby?” He murmurs, an arm going around her protectively. He had lost her mother, his wife, mere hours ago, and like hell would he lose his daughter too.

“.. Mommy’s not coming home, is she?” Her head is falling onto his shoulder and she yawns, making herself comfortable. He can feel a tear threaten to fall, and for a moment it’s hard to speak.

“No, darling.” He finally breathes out, voice soft and quiet. “I’m afraid, she’s not.”

And if the doctor had a single thing to do with his wife’s death, he would make sure that the monster was killed in such a brutal manner as his wife was.

* * *

“He’s catching on, sir.” A voice speaks over the tortured screams, red eyes dead and dull. “It won’t be long before he brings the entire police force and we’ll have to run out of town.” Qrow watches as James rolls up his sleeves and drop down to his knees and scrubs the floor. “And that girl, his wife-”

“We’re fine. The townspeople adore me and don’t think I could do any wrong.” James assures, glancing at Qrow with a warm and inviting smile. Qrow shifts slightly and glances away. “And besides, they believe Ozpin has gone mad. Even with the body being found like this, something I do not blame you for, they’ll suspect him instead.”

The assistant relaxes and walks over, joining James in cleaning the floor. “If you say so, sir.” And then there are lips against his, red eyes closing for a moment, reopening to blue, so very close to his. It takes his breath away every time the doctor kisses him, and leaves him wanting more.   
“Don’t worry. Now, prepare yourself for a trip to the village. It’s time for our newest test subject to join us.” Qrow nods and stands as James does, a look of confusion on his face as he heads for the stairs, watching James peel off his gloves and lab coat.   
  
“Who are they?” He asks, out of curiosity, and watches as James, with a cold and cruel look in his eyes look over his shoulder at him.

“Weiss Schnee.”

* * *

“Ozpin, all of the evidence we have is purely circumstantial.” Glynda is walking beside her friend at a fast pace, trying to keep up with him as he marches up the dirt road that leads up to the doctor’s plantation. “It’s not enough to convict him in a court of law!”

“I don’t care. Pyrrha Nikos was last seen heading to his property, as was my wife. And you know what we found in my wife’s hand when we found her?” Ozpin has dark circles under his eyes and it is clear from the way his voice croaks out that he has not been sleeping well for the past few days. “A bright orange lily.”   
  
“Yes, but-”   
  
“And what was the first thing we saw when we first went to his home, back before all this started?” Ozpin turns to her, finally pausing in his pace and she sighs.    
  
“Bright red roses that were too bright to be a natural color.” She sees his point, really she does. But she’s also worried for his friend in his sleep deprived state. “Let’s just not do anything too hasty.. I don’t want to lose you, Ozpin. And I’m sure Gabriella wouldn’t want to lose her father so soon after her mother.” And that makes him stop and think.

“Okay.” He finally sighs out and runs a hand through his hair and looks at her, brown eyes weary. “We’ll do this your way.”

As it turned out, Glynda’s way was to take a firmer, more direct approach. When James invites them into the home for tea, they politely accept the offer and enter the house. Much like the outside, it seems pristine and white, not a single spot of dirt anywhere. Ozpin doesn’t like it. It’s not natural.

“I understand why you’re here. It’s a shame what happened to Miss Fall.” James says, sipping from his cup. “Or, rather, Mrs. Fall. I’m sorry for your loss, detective.”   
  
Ozpin glances away careful not to drink from the teacup he was given. He didn’t trust anything offered to him, worried it had been poisoned or tampered with in some way.

“While it’s true we’re here to talk about Ozpin’s wife’s murder..” Glynda begins to speak, pausing slightly. “We’ve also reopened the case of Miss Nikos, back in the early spring. And upon reopening the case, we learned we never interviewed your assistant.”

James looks surprised before he chuckles and shakes his head. “No, you did not. Qrow wasn’t in the home at the time you came around to interview me, but he’s available today, if you wish to question him.”

“Indeed, we do. Does he mind coming down to the office with us?” She looks at Qrow in the doorway, who glances at her then at James who gives his assistant a nod. Ozpin notices this, watching how Qrow perks up when James gives him silent permission.

“Yeah, I’ll come with you.”

* * *

His hands fidget the entire way back to town and the entire time, Ozpin is tempted to reach over and just pin his hands to his sides. But he knows better. So instead, Ozpin restrains himself and walks silent to the office with Glynda and Qrow. It’s not long before they get there with the streets clearing out. Perhaps they should’ve chosen a better time of day then dawn to interrogate Qrow, but it was better later than never.

“So, Mr. Branwen…” Glynda sits in the chair across from Qrow, folding her hands on the table in front of them. Ozpin stands next to her, arms crossed over his chest. He watches Qrow carefully, the way he looks down and rests his hands on his knees. “Tell us about yourself.”

“Uh.. There’s not a lot to talk about.” Qrow shrugs a shoulder, leaning back slightly in the chair. “What you see is what you get. I’m the doctor’s assistant and his lover.”

Glynda scribbles down on her notes real quick, humming softly as she does. “And how close are you to the doctor, besides the obvious? Is it both personal and business? Or strictly business?”

“My professional, business relationship is separate from my private, intimate relationship if that’s what you mean.” Qrow snaps back, and Glynda has an amused twinkle in her eyes.   
  
“So.. If the doctor were ever to do something.. Criminally wrong..” She waves her pen around. “Say, hypothetically kidnap and murder someone, would you turn him in or not?”   
  
And Qrow goes still. And Glynda sees it, and so does Ozpin. And he expects Qrow to tell them both everything, all the crimes James had committed. He expects Qrow to ask for a plea bargain, his testimony for a lighter sentence.

He certainly wasn’t prepared for what came next.

“I did it.” He exhales. “I killed Pyrrha Nikos and Cinder Fall. James was never aware of these crimes.” The way Qrow “confesses” seems so odd and out of place. He’s saying it without a single muscle in his body moving. He’s saying it without a single change of emotion in his voice. And Ozpin knows Qrow isn’t a cold blooded killer- A bit mad perhaps, yes, but a murderer, no.

“If you committed these murders, then take us to where you killed them.” Ozpin’s eyes narrow at Qrow and he gets a sick, twisted grin on his face, an unnatural twinkle in those rust red eyes.

“Gladly.”

He’s forced up from his chair, Ozpin cuffing his hands behind his back and they go back to the plantation in silence. He’s convinced that Qrow is not the murderer. He may have witnessed the crimes or helped the doctor clean his mess, but he’s convinced Qrow is not the one to have killed his wife.

The house is dark as they approach, not a single light on anywhere despite it being well past sunset at this point. Ozpin gives Qrow a rough shove forward and he sighs, walking into the house. Not a sign of the doctor or his brother anywhere, but Qrow leads them down to the kitchen, where he gestures to a steel door. “Down there. There’s a basement and it’s got all the evidence you’ll want.”

Ozpin and Glynda give a nod to each other, and have Qrow lead them down first, in the event James was hiding and ready to attack. But they were one step behind the doctor who always stayed one step ahead. The lab was just as pristine as the rest of the house and they hear metal shuffling as Qrow somehow slips out of his handcuffs. The sadistic, twisted grin on his face grows wider and he’s moving to flip the surgical table over, giving himself enough time and distance to run up the steps, leaving Ozpin and Glynda at the bottom.

“So sorry it had to be this way, detective.” Qrow cackles, “Tell your wife I said hello.” And the steel door closes with a loud groan and Qrow’s moving a bar into place to lock it.

Ozpin and Glynda try their best to knock it down, but it’s no use. They were stuck there until someone came looking. So they waited, as Qrow and James got further away from their town.

By the time morning came, a fellow detective, Bartholomew Oobleck, comes around to the house with his partner, Peter Port. They find the door, as well as two very exhausted and tired detectives waiting behind it.

“It’s no use.” Ozpin says once they’re in the office downtown, his daughter curled up on the couch asleep. “They’re long gone now.” He stares out the window and frowns. “And if James Ironwood is the man I think he is, then no town is safe.”

* * *

It was a cold winter night when they moved into town. It wasn’t until morning when the townspeople had noticed their new arrivals. A man who wore a white glove on one hand, a charming smile on his handsomely chiseled face, everything about him seemed warm and inviting. Dr. James Ironwood was how he introduced himself.

And a young woman, with sun freckled cheeks, ginger locks that were held back in a bun with a pink bow, takes the first move to greet him, her hand outstretched to grab his in a friendly greeting. “Welcome to our town!”

The doctor smiles, sharing a look with his assistant, before leaning down to shake the girl’s hand. “Thank you for accepting us. Now I understand the old town physician has passed away?” He’s met with many nods and claps his hands together, still smiling. 

“Well, there’s work to be done. Let’s begin.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are love!


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